Firefly III vs Lago
| Tagline | Self-hosted personal finance manager with budgets, rules, and bank import | Open-source metering and usage-based billing API for SaaS products |
| Category | Finance & Budgeting | Finance & Budgeting |
| Replaces | Mint, YNAB, QuickBooks | QuickBooks, Mint |
| GitHub stars | 24k | 10k |
| Language | PHP | Docker |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Self-host difficulty | 3/5 Moderate | 3/5 Moderate |
| Deploy options | Docker Docker Compose Manual | Docker Docker Compose Kubernetes Manual |
| Managed hosting | ||
| Last updated | today | 7 days ago |
| View repo | View repo |
Where each falls short
The honest trade-offs — what you give up with each, versus the proprietary tools they replace.
Firefly III
- Bank import requires a separate importer container and CSV/OFX manipulation; no one-click bank sync
- UI can feel complex and verbose for casual users compared to Mint's simplicity
- No built-in mobile app; third-party apps exist but vary in quality
- Investment and brokerage account tracking is limited compared to dedicated wealth tools
Lago
- Developer-oriented billing API, not a personal finance or budgeting tool for end-users
- No AR/AP or general-ledger accounting; revenue recognition requires integration with an ERP
- Tax calculation engine is basic; real-world tax compliance needs third-party integration (e.g. Avalara)
- Dunning workflows and payment retries are less mature than Chargebee or Stripe Billing
Bottom line
Both are a similar lift to self-host; choose Firefly III for the larger community and ecosystem. Firefly III has seen more recent development. Open each guide below for deploy steps and the full feature gap.
Firefly III
Self-hosted personal finance manager with budgets, rules, and bank import